Conventional glass showcases for use in museums are often of the type comprising a metal (or other material) base, four glass (or other material) side walls, and a roof, which are assembled together to form a box-shaped case in which exhibits may be displayed. The case may be fitted with internal glass shelves, or vertical planes on which paintings etc, can be hung. The showcase components are usually delivered to the museum or other location in which the showcase is to be used, and the side walls are slotted into channels provided therefor in the base and roof, and are secured in place with bonding material. Alternatively, the showcase may be delivered in assembled form, with the side walls already bonded into the channels. FIG. 1 shows a lower edge of one side wall W fixed in place in a channel C of the base B by adhesive A in the channel C. One or more small packer pads P are located in the channel C to prevent the glass wall W touching the metal base B.
The main disadvantage of this construction is that the bonded together showcase cannot thereafter be readily disassembled and reassembled. This is a particular disadvantage for temporary exhibitions, such as travelling exhibitions which must be moved from venue to venue, or within a venue where showcases are stored between exhibitions. Transportation of the assembled showcases from venue to venue, which can often mean transportation from country to country around the world, without damaging their relatively delicate structure, is difficult. Moreover, the assembled showcases are relatively bulky and heavy, requiring large transportation (or storage) volumes and special handling and packing, in turn increasing the transportation costs.
A further disadvantage of the above-described conventional showcases is that the assembly of the showcases is a relatively skilled and lengthy operation which requires fitters to be present at the first venue at which the showcases are required. The alternative is to supply the showcases already bonded together, but as above described the assembled showcases are delicate and difficult to transport given their bulky and delicate structure.
It is an object of the present invention to avoid or minimise one or more of the foregoing disadvantages.
According to the present invention there is provided a showcase comprising a base, a plurality of side walls, and a roof, wherein the showcase further includes connection means for connecting said side walls to the base, the connection means comprising a plurality of elongate connecting members, each said connecting member having a channel defined therein for receiving a lower edge of a respective one of the side walls, and releasable fastening means for fastening the connecting members to the base.
The base may be provided with complementary channels for receiving the elongate connecting members and the releasable fastening means may comprise screw means, for example grub screws, for holding (by effectively clamping) the connecting members in place. The grub screws can be released (unscrewed) to allow removal of the connecting members. Alternatively, the connecting members may be provided with flange means via which the connecting members can be screwed to the base (i.e. by screwing the flange to an adjacent surface or flange of the base). Other releasable fastening means are also possible e.g. locks, clips, catches or other suitable gripping mechanisms.
Preferably, the showcase is of box form, having four planar rectangular side walls made of glass, or another suitable transparent material, or any other rigid panel material (e.g. an opaque wall), and the base and roof are of generally rectangular end profile. In this case preferably four connecting members are provided, one for the lower edge of each side wall.
The showcase preferably also includes a further elongate connecting member for connecting each said side wall to the roof, each said further connecting member having a channel defined therein for receiving an upper edge of a respective side wall of the showcase, and further releasable fastening means for fastening these connecting members to the roof.
While the side walls are preferably of planar, rectangular form, they may alternatively take other planar geometric forms e.g. triangular, hexagonal etc. Further embodiments of the invention are also possible in which the side walls are curved, or curvilinear. In this case the elongate connecting members and the channels therein will be of complementary shape for receiving the lower or upper edges of the side walls.
The edges of the side walls are preferably fixed in place in the respective channels in which they are received in said connecting members by fixing means which may conveniently be adhesive, preferably silicon adhesive. The side walls can thus be permanently connected to the connecting members, but the connecting members are only temporarily connected to the base and/or roof, by the releasable fastening means. Thus, the assembled showcase can be easily disassembled when it needs to be transported to a new location, and then reassembled at the new location. The risk of damage to the cases also being reduced since the glass side walls can be transported more easily when packed separately, and can be stacked in parallel, this also being more economical in the transportation volume required.
Furthermore, the invention has the advantage that the need for any bonding operations to be carried out at the exhibition venue can be avoided, if desired, by simply supplying to the venue the side walls already bonded to the connecting members. It is then a relatively simple task to assemble the side walls to the base and roof and fasten them in place. Thus, the bonding operations can be carried out at the point of manufacture. This minimises assembly time and costs at the exhibition venue.
The base and/or roof may be formed as a single integral unit. Alternatively, and preferably, the base and roof each comprise a frame structure formed by a plurality of side frame members connected together in a loop, and a roof or base panel which is affixed to the frame structure so as to close the ends of the showcase. The roof or base panel can be made of glass, or another transport material, or from an opaque panel material. Where the base and/or roof is formed in this manner, the side frame members may each incorporate a channel for receiving a respective edge of the base or roof panel. The base or roof panel may be bonded into these channels or, if preferred, further connecting members of the above described type may be provided for releasably fastening the panel to the roof/base frame structure.
It will be appreciated that although bonding with adhesive is the most convenient method of fixing the side walls in place in the connecting members, other suitable fixing means, which may be permanent or temporary, could alternatively be used e.g. the connecting members could be designed to tightly grip the wall edges in the receiving channels.